8 jayplay.
thursday, august 28, 2003
health
5 STEPS TO BETTER NUTRITION
Eating healthy is hard to do,but we'll try to simplify it for you.
By Lauren Reidy
lreidy@kansan.com
Jayplay writer
Let's face it, eating healthy can be hard to do. The residence hall cafeterias bombard us with appealing, but fat-filled dishes like fried chicken, cheesy casseroles and an assortment of desserts. After a late study session or a night out at the bars, nothing tastes better than a fresh, delivered pizza. And what fun is a trip to the grocery store without some sugary reward?
Unfortunately, there are consequences for indulging in these delicious treats.
"Based on self-reported measures of weight and height among 742 undergraduate KU students, it was found this past year that 22 percent were overweight and 5 percent obese," says Dr. Myra Strother, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
If you skip a meal and you're starving, you're likely to binge on unhealthy snacks or foods like pizza. If you frequently skip meals or over diet, you slow your metabolism, causing fatigue and even weight gain.
We decided to sit down with Watkins experts to ask how students could avoid the obesity trend. Together, we came up with these five, easy steps to building and maintaining good eating habits. Watkins also clued us in on some ways students can make healthy choices around campus.
STEP ONE: BE SELECTIVE
Just because Mrs. E's serves ice cream and french fries every night does not mean you have to eat them. In fact, thanks to H.O.M.E.B.A.S.E. (Healthy Options for Movement, Exercise, Body Acceptance and Savvy Eating), the campus cafeterias and the Kansas and Burge Unions now serve healthy entrees at every meal. This task force has worked to ensure that students always have nutritional dining options.
"The residence halls and the Unions have foods with the logo,
Fresh and Hearty," says Ann Chapman, MS, RD., coordinator of Nutrition Services at Watkins. "Those foods are lighter and healthier."
Chapman, says students should combine the 'Fresh and Hearty' entrees with nutritional sides.
"You should try to eat fruits and vegetables," she says. "They're 80 to 90 percent water, but they're high in fiber so they fill you up without extra calories."
Strother says students should remember the food pyramid when selecting a meal.
"You want to make sure you get the appropriate servings from all the food groups," she says.
The pyramid's latest incarnation recommends that our daily diet should include:
six to 11 servings from the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group.
- three to five servings from the vegetable group.
- two to four servings from the fruit group.
- two to three servings from the milk, yogurt and cheese group.
- ditto for the meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts group.
Our advice? We know it's impossible to eat perfectly balanced meals all the time, but do it as often as you can. Limit the dessert. Come on, what fun would life be without the occasional piece of cheesecake?
STEP TWO: DON'T SKIP MEALS
We've all done it. Whether we've slept through our alarm and missed breakfast or been too busy studying to break for dinner, we've skipped at least one meal. But eating regular, balanced meals is a necessity, not a luxury.
"You really need three meals and two healthy snacks a day." Strother says. "Eating regular
meals gives your body fuel to run off of all day long. Your memory is much better and your focusing skills are more finely tuned when you've eaten."
Eating regular meals does more than provide you with energy and improve your mental agility. It can also prevent you from gaining weight.
"If you skip a meal and you're starving, you're likely to binge on unhealthy snacks or foods like pizza," Strother says. "If you frequently skip meals or over diet, you slow your metabolism, causing fatigue and even weight gain."
We suggest scheduling meals into your daily plan. If you regularly give yourself time to eat complete meals, you're more likely to do so.
STEP THREE: COUNT COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES
Counting the calories and fat grams in foods may seem like an easy way to eat healthy, but that's not enough.
"You can't just compare things calorie to calorie," Strother says. "When you eat complex carbohydrates, your body uses calories to digest them. If you drink pop or eat sweets, they don't require much energy for digestion. If you don't burn the calories off immediately, they turn more quickly to fat."
Try by-passing the low fat Ben & Jerry's ice cream for frozen yogurt. Craving cookies? Satisfy your sweet tooth with dried fruit.
STEP FOUR: EAT RIGHT WHEN YOU'RE EATING LATE
Okay, you've just finished studying for a huge test. It's 1 a.m. and you're famished. Or maybe you've just come back from a night out at the bars. We know what you're thinking, pizza delivery. It's quick, easy and delicious. It's also unhealthy.
"The student who does have weight gain here at KU,often doesn't get it come from the food at the residence halls," Strother says. "It comes from a combination of little exercise and pizza and beer late at night."
We could just say, 'don't eat after 8:00p.m.' and 'don't drink,' but we're realistic. We know you drink and we know that late night snacks are a necessary evil. We suggest the low calorie cocktails mentioned in Julie Jones' article and stocking up on low-fat snacks like pretzels and baked chips. They're not pizza, but they can still satisfy late-night hunger pains.
Students who don't make it to the grocery store can now visit the campus vending machines for healthy snacks. On August 25th, H.O.M.E.B.A.S.E. and vendor, Treat America, began stocking all campus vending machines with eight healthy options called Better Bites.
"The first 8 'Better Bite' items that will appear in the vending machines will be Nature Valley Granola, Oatmeal Crisp, Peanuts, Sunflower Kernels, Fig Newtons, Mini Pretzels, Zoo Crackers, and
All Energy Trail Mix," Chapman says. "Sales will be evaluated monthly and items not selling well will be replaced with other preselected 'Better Bite' items."
STEP FIVE: LEARN TO COOK
Cooking your own, healthy meals is the key to eating right.
"Prepared foods may look good, but they cost more and have things you don't want, like extra calories and fat," Strother says. "Experiment with learning to cook. Try making meals with four ingredients or less. Remember, simple is better."
The Community Mercantile CO-OP, 901 Iowa, offers cooking classes throughout the year.
"Starting in September, we'll have six classes on topics like eating well on a busy day, cooking fish and international cooking," says Nancy O'Connor, director of Education and Community Outreach.
Class schedules and payment information are available at the Merc. Most classes are offered in the evenings and on Saturday.In October, the Merc will offer six additional classes.
"Our classes our designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of people," O'Connor says.
The skills learned in these classes and from recipe books can help you build a healthier lifestyle. You may not need to cook while living in the dorms, sororities or fraternities, but you certainly will as soon as you move out on your own.
No one is perfect. Even when we're passionately committed to eating right,we're bound to slip up every once in a while.The occasional piece of pizza is well worth it.Following these simple steps can help you build and maintain good eating habits over time. Your thoughts will be clearer,your body will be healthier and, we think you'll be happier.